


Guardians to the Rescue

by Macx



Category: Real Ghostbusters
Genre: Paranormal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-24
Updated: 2011-07-24
Packaged: 2017-10-21 17:35:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/227796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Macx/pseuds/Macx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Normally ghosts try to break out of the containment unit. It's rare that someone actually tries to break in. Facing three paranormal entities who tried just that, the Ghostbusters are stumped by their explanation. Guardian what?!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Guardians to the Rescue

**Author's Note:**

> originally written in the late 1990s and first published in 555-BUST: Please Hold the Line  
> co-authored by Sapphire

"We get in there, open the big box and get him out. Simple."

"Not so simple, my friend. It's not called a containment unit for nothing. The possibility that we can operate the opening mechanism is way below my former calculations of getting inside Ghostbuster Central and going down to the basement without getting noticed by the Ghostbusters.

"We can't just leave him there!"

"I did not imply leaving our friend in the containment unit." The speaker looked reproachfully at his companion. "I just stated the obvious facts. We won't be able to get inside unnoticed."

"How 'bout a disguise?" another voice asked.

"Disguise?" Short, humorlessly laughter. "Disguise as what? We can't change the way we look, buddy, if you have forgotten that oh-so tiny little fact." A dark eyebrow rose in mild sarcasm.

"Yeah, right." A sigh. "Any ideas? How 'bout sneaking inside? We can do that, can't we?"

"They'll see us. Count on it. That secretary of theirs has eyes like a hawk. And don't forget the spud." A shudder. "I think he'll smell us, especially me."

The others smiled, but without real humor.

"Darn!" the dark-skinned of them finally cursed and the blond flinched. The other looked at the sky above them with a half-apologetic look. "Sorry."

"Well?" the dark-haired asked after some time. "Anybody thought about making ourselves invisible as we always do? I mean, they never see us when we're there."

"It is a possibility." The blond nodded, deep in thought. "But you still have to get down to the basement and open the containment unit. And as far as I can remember, they installed an alarm to detect supernatural beings lately. We just can't go in there unnoticed."

"Hanging around a bit, haven't we?" the dark-haired teased, though it lacked the usual amusement and brightness.

"A bit," the other confessed. "Well," he hesitated, "there was another lab accident. I had to be there."

A soft chuckle. "Doesn't count."

 

"Guys, let's get back to business at hand, will you?" the black one of them admonished. "We still have to get our buddy out of that containment unit before something terrible happens."

"There's always something terrible happening," the dark-haired muttered.

"But this time it would be much worse," the blond lectured. "If we don't get our colleague back, Raymond Stantz will not only be in trouble next time there's danger. He might be dead."

The others nodded, knowing very well what might happen if their colleague wasn't out of the containment unit of the Ghostbusters before the next bust. Suddenly there was a unnerving, beeping sound.

The dark-haired paled visibly. "Oh, no!" he breathed.

The black looked at his pager. "Oh, yes," he confirmed. "Here we are. Deep trouble, stage three. Guys, we got a real problem. What now?"

"Listen, I'll pull double duty on this one," the dark-haired volunteered immediately.

"You?"

"Yeah, me. Anything against that?"

The other two quickly shook their heads.

"What about a temporary assistant?" the blond asked cautiously.

"Remember last week's staff meeting? We got our budget shortened. No assistants. Besides, we don't have time to get one."

The other two beepers went off and the three looked at each other.

"Time to go, guys. We got work to do."

And they vanished into thin air.

 

* * *

 

"There he goes!" Peter Venkman caroled and ran after the class-5 free roaming vapor, his thrower held in a tight grip.

Ray Stantz followed him down the corridor of the gallery of modern art. He and Peter were chasing one of the two class-5 ghosts that had been sighted in the gallery. The Ghostbusters had been called two hours ago, but they hadn't been able to catch those two. Now they had split up, making the Ghostbusters follow their example. Egon and Winston had taken after the brightly orange one, and Peter and Ray had chased the green twin down the corridors and rooms. They had lost their prey once or twice in the vast museum which resembled more a maze than anything else.

"I think we got him now!" Ray panted, studying the floor plan he had acquired. "This is the new exhibition of Shrosnikows."

Peter, who had been some meters ahead of Ray, stopped dead in his tracks when he entered the mentioned exhibition. He stared at the paintings and sculptures, his mouth hanging open. "Yep," he nodded, "exhibition's the word I'd have chosen, too."

Ray wanted to follow, but was stopped by Peter's arm.

"Kid, this isn't something you should see."

Ray blinked. What? He pushed away the restraining arm and entered, like Peter stopping abruptly, staring at the art.

"Told you it was gruesome," Peter said.

Ray took in the exhibited art and gulped. Well, gruesome didn't begin to describe it. He'd have called it ... deranged. Ninety-nine percent of the objects displayed in the room showed women in various stages of .... nakedness.

"Where's the ghost?" he finally managed, trying to ignore the art, though it was hard. Very hard.

Peter pulled himself together, too, and looked round. "Dunno," he confessed.

Ray took out his P.K.E. meter and took readings. He swept the room, holding at one point. "There," he said, pointing in one direction - directly at a very ... nude ... woman? Peter wasn't too sure.

As if on cue the ghost materialized, diving at the two Ghostbuster with a blood curdling scream. Peter pushed the trigger button and fired, hitting the wall behind the ghost, destroying three pictures in the process. No great loss to human kind, he decided. Ray fired, too. He nicked the ghost, who was incredibly fast. The occultist had to move quickly to get out of the spirit's way. The ghost stopped and turned, taking in the position of his hunters. Then he grabbed a sculpture and threw it at Peter. The psychologist dove for cover behind a large sculpture, not ceasing his fire.

From one moment the next the ghost vanished. The two Ghostbuster looked cautiously around, Peter peeking up from behind the sculpture, Ray standing close to a twisted form of metal bars in the center of the large room.

"Ray?" Peter called. "Where'd he go?"

Ray looked at the display of his P.K.E. meter. "I don't know. He's around here somewhere, but I can't pinpoint the exact location." He did another sweep, not noticing the green ghost appearing above the metal sculpture.

But Peter did. He was aiming at the ghost when it disappeared behind the bars and -

"Ray! Watch out!"

The sculpture had started to move back and forth ever so slightly. But the movement got stronger every second and Ray was standing directly below the large, metal thing! As Peter got up from behind his cover, yelling at the occultist to get out of the way, the metal sculpture tilted forward. Peter put all his energy in the sprint towards Ray, who was staring at him with surprise. Then he heard a creak and looked up, his eyes widening as he saw the structure of heavy metal bars tilting towards him.

Peter was only a few meters away from his friend when he tripped over something. He fell to the ground, getting the wind knocked out of him for a second. He heard a loud creak and looked up. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. He saw the green ghost disappearing through the ceiling. Ray still stood where he was, frozen to the spot, staring at the mass of metal falling towards him. The sculpture collapsed and then the sounds returned. Peter heard a loud, metallic crash as the bars hit the ground, followed by a scream.

"Ray!" He got into action, trying to get up as fast as he could. He ran over to the heap of metal, frantically looking for his friend. "Ray!" he called again, flinging aside scraps of metal, not caring about the cuts he inflicted on his hands in the process. "Ray! Where are you? Oh, damnit! Answer me!"

 

"Oh, no!" Peter stared at the heap of metal in horror. "Damn!" he cursed from depth of his heart. "Damn, damn, _damn_!" He moved over to the former metal statue, watching Peter Venkman dig into the metal. "Please let him be alive!" he whispered.

What if Ray wasn't alive? He had no way to tell. Ray wasn't his protégé. If it had been Peter .... it would have been easy. He was attuned to Peter. Right now he felt anguish, fear and pain emit in large waves from his protégé, as Venkman tried to find his friend.

"Ray!" Peter called again and suddenly stopped as if struck by lightning. "Ray?" He crawled into the heap and Peter held his breath. _Please let him be alive!_ he thought. _Please!_.

Then there was a muffled sound coming from the heap and Peter appeared again, dragging the seemingly unconscious form of his colleague after him.

"He's alive, he's alive, he's alive," Peter chanted.

Peter bent over Ray and suddenly there was a relieved expression on his pale face. Peter interpreted it correctly, feeling relieved, too. Ray was alive!

"What happened here?" a deep bass voice asked and Peter flinched, turning. Egon had appeared at his side, looking a bit shocked as he took in the scene before him.

"I .... I failed," the dark-haired guardian angel confessed in a small voice.

The blond blinked in surprise at those words. Like his protégé, Peter didn't very often confess personal failure. "What?" he asked, not trusting his own ears.

"They got separated and ... the ghost appeared out of no-where ... it tipped over this sculpture and I couldn't save Ray because I had to look after Peter for a minute, and then Peter was trying to get to Ray and it put him into mortal danger himself, and I had to look after him because I just couldn't let him do it, and I made him trip so he couldn't reach Ray ... but doing so I lost too much time and the sculpture fell and Ray got trapped......"

"Peter!" The deep voice interrupted the flow of words.

The dark-haired guardian angel blinked. "Yes?" He seemed dazed, as if in shock.

"It's not your fault. You couldn't be in two places at the same time. And look, Ray's alive."

Peter looked at Ray as if seeing him lying there for the first time. The occultist was just coming around. "But ..... he got hurt and it was my duty to protect him....," he said weakly.

"You had your own to protect, Peter. It was not your fault."

"Guys, what happened here?" Winston had appeared, too, staring at the two angels.

That was also the moment the two Ghostbusters entered. They ran over to Peter and Ray when they noticed that one of them was injured.

"Peter, what happened?" Egon wanted to know.

The psychologist looked up with anguished, green eyes. "The sculpture fell down on him, Egon," he said hoarsely. "I couldn't reach him in time to get him away from there because I tripped over something and fell." He looked like he blamed himself for tripping and not being able to save his friend. It made Peter cringe with even more guilt. If he hadn't tripped Peter, the Ghostbuster might have been able to get to Ray and ....

"If only ...."

A hand fell on his shoulder and he looked into Egon's blue eyes. "It's not your fault, Peter. Believe me. You did what you had to do. Your first duty lays with Peter Venkman."

Sighing, the other guardian angel watched as Winston went to call for the paramedics.

"Maybe," he whispered. "Ray should have been here."

"But he wasn't."

Yes, Raywasn't here. He was in the containment unit. And it all had been an accident.....

\----- It had been a straining week for both the Ghostbusters and their guardian angels. Well, that was nothing new to either of them. There were a lot of obnoxious little class-2's running free in the city. The guys had been able to catch most of them and were now trying to trap the last lot in a large, automated factory. Everything had been running smoothly and professionally until that fatal moment. Ray Stantz had been caught in something and fallen onto the conveyor belt, unable to get off because his uniform was caught in the belt. Ray had been there in time to free him, letting it appear as if the fabric of the uniform ripped. It had been in the nick of time and Ray had been able to roll off the belt.

One of the major drawbacks of being a guardian angel was that saving your protégé always had to look as if it had been a big amount of luck instead of 'heavenly' intervention. But right at this moment, Ray had lucked out. His protégé, being dazed from his near fatal accident, was attacked by a ghost. Winston, seeing the attack, had warded off the ghost, throwing out a trap to catch it. But instead of the ghost, which had been able to get free of the single proton beam, he had caught a guardian angel - not even knowing it.

Ray was so absorbed in checking over Ray, making sure the Ghostbuster wasn't hurt, he didn't see the trap landing beside him. When the brilliant white light engulfed him, he had no chance to pull free, disappearing in the trap.

The other three guardian angels had first been totally shocked by this new development of the situation, nearly neglecting their duty, then had tried to open the trap - unsuccessfully. Winston had picked up the device, carrying it to the white car they called Ecto-1.

"What now?" Peter wanted to know, his face a mirror of his feelings. No-one knew what a trap would do to a guardian angel. Never had one been caught by a Ghostbuster!

"We have to get him out of there - fast!" Egon said with a matter-of-fact voice.

"Oh, yeah? Never would have thought of that!" the other retorted.

"Calm down, m'angel," Winston stepped in. "We'll get him out of there."

"How?"

Yes, how? They had followed the four Ghostbusters home to their Headquarters and had to watch with utter horror as they emptied the trap with Ray into the containment unit.

"And now?" Peter wanted to know, looking at Egon.

The blond angel looked like didn't have a clue. "I don't have a clue," he confessed.

"Oh." Peter turned to Winston. "I hate it when he says that."

The other just grinned half-heartedly.

"But there has to be a way to open the containment field and get Ray out," Egon continued.

"What will the boss say?" Winston asked a very obvious question.

"We could always tell him it was an accident," Peter suggested with a faint smile .......

 

 

"What now?"

"I think we should ask the boss for help," Winston said.

"What?! Are you crazy? We haven't told him about Ray yet and you want to tell him 'bout that?" Peter stared at the black guardian in horror.

"It was just a suggestion."

"And it was a bad one."

They watched as the paramedics arrived and carried Ray away. The three uninjured Ghostbusters followed in various stages of shock, in turn followed by their guardian angels, who also displayed shock and disbelief. Ray was brought to the next hospital where a fracture of his left leg and a concussion was diagnosed. He had been conscious when he arrived in the E.R. Peter had immediately volunteered to stay with Ray for a while and the others had gone home.

The guardian angels -- no longer needed for the time being -- had gone home, too. They sat around the table in the kitchen, discussing the problem at hand. Problems, to be correct. First, Ray was in the containment unit. Second, Ray was at hospital. Third, they still didn't have a clue how to get their colleague out of the containment field.

"Someone has to go in there and get him out," Winston said.

"We had that before, Winston. It's impossible. They would recognize us immediately." Egon shook his head.

"You -- maybe. Me -- don't think so," Peter objected.

"Why you?"

"Try to make yourself visible, buddy," Petertold him. "See, you got a halo. A bright one. I don't." He grinned at Egon. "I knew that this would come in handy one day."

Egon just grimaced but had to confess that it was true. Peter had always rejected his halo -- and the wings which were, as he said, always in the way -- unlike the other three. Okay, neither of them had wings -- Egon had finally seen the truth inPeter's statement that they got in the way -- but they had kept their halos. After all, they were guardian angels. And a proper guardian angel should have a halo.

"I still don't think you could make it."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Spengs! Have a little faith!" Peter admonished. "You always had it at college."

Egon sighed. He didn't like it. He really didn't like it at all. It put them into danger, not bodily, mind! There were other dangers for a guardian angel.

"I think it's a good idea," Winston helped his friend and colleague. "Peter's protégé is in the hospital with Ray and so Peter could pose as him. If he materializes and concentrates hard enough he won't even set off the alarm because he appears human. He sure looks like him." He grinned at the dark-haired angel.

"He's got a point there. Egon....?" Peter looked pleadingly at the blond angel. "Please...?"

"Okay, okay," the other one gave in. "But ... please be careful, okay? We don't want to lose you, too."

Peter blinked in surprise at that statement from his colleague. "Ahm, sure." He grinned brightly. "Okay, let's go." With that he disappeared.

Winston looked at the other guardian angel. "Whaddaya think, big guy? Do we have to keep a watchful eye on him?"

"Of course." The blond nodded and they disappeared, too.

* * *

 

Janine sat at her desk, typing away at her computer. The guys had returned from the hospital an hour ago, telling her what had happened at the bust. Like them, she was a worried, but Ray wasn't in mortal danger and they were sure he'd return in a few days. Though he had to wear a cast around his leg because of the fracture and wouldn't be able to go on busts. Peter had stayed with him and they expected him to return this evening.

Suddenly the door opened and the red-haired secretary looked up. In surprise she noticed that it was Peter.

"Hello, Dr. V," she greeted him.

"Hello, Janine," the dark-haired man returned with a friendly smile.

Janine blinked. "How's Ray?" she asked, trying to determine what it was that bugged her about him.

"He's fine, Janine. How are you?"

She blinked again. "What? Eh, I'm fine, thanks." What was the matter with Peter? Usually he neither smiled at her in that overly friendly way, nor asked her how she was -- except when he wanted something from her, that was. "Whaddaya want?"

"Want?" Peter looked genuinely surprised. "I want nothing from you, Janine." And he sounded very convincing honest, too! Amazing. "I'll be downstairs if someone needs me," he added and went to the stairs leading to the basement of Ghostbuster Central.

"Uhm, sure, yeah." Janine was utterly confused. What was it with Peter? And what did he want downstairs? Maybe he had laundry duty today? But why go downstairs without seeing the guys first and tell them about Ray? Mmhhh, maybe they already knew. Shrugging, no longer trying to see anything logical in the ways Peter thought and acted, she returned to her work.

About five minutes later the door opened again and in came --

"Peter?" Janine stared at him in utter surprise.

"Hi, Janine!" the dark-haired Ghostbuster greeted her. "Miss me?"

"But ... but ... but you just came in and went downstairs," Janine stuttered, unable to comprehend what was going on.

"Uh, come again please? I just came back from the hospital."

"But you went downstairs!" Then something dawned her. "Is this a joke, Venkman?!"

Peter shook his head. "Joke? What's a joke? Janine, would you mind telling me what the hell is going on here?"

"About five minutes ago you came in here and went downstairs! And I didn't see you come up again."

"What?"

That was the moment the alarm went off. It was the alarm of the containment unit. Peter reacted instantly. He grabbed one of the proton packs still leaning against the wall and ran downstairs, not waiting for the others to get down to the first floor. He was in the basement in no time, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw the dark-haired figure in the brown jumpsuit in front of the large, red containment unit.

"Hey, you!" he yelled, aiming the proton rifle at the man. "Get away from the controls. Nice and easy. No sudden movements."

The stranger turned and Peter gaped. That guy looked exactly like him! Blinking, he tried to overcome his shock. "Who ... who are you? What the hell are you doing down here?"

At the word 'hell' the stranger winced visibly. He held a look like Peter had just said a dirty word in front of an under-age audience.

"Ahm," he stuttered, obviously searching for words.

"Spill it or you gonna get a new hair-style, buddy." Peter waved the rifle threateningly.

"Ehm, I ... well, you see ..... I just ...," the dark-haired stranger stuttered on.

Suddenly two more figures appeared out of no-where and Peter nearly dropped his rifle. That was impossible! The two newcomers looked exactly like Winston and Egon! Except maybe for the brilliant white uniforms and the lights shining around them. Compared to them, the other one looked decidedly normal.

"What's going on here?" Peter wanted to know, utterly confused. Maybe this was another case of ectoplasm seeping out of the containment unit and materializing in form of the Ghostbusters. It had happened a long time ago and Peter wasn't keen on experiencing that again.

"Don't shoot!" The man, who looked exactly like Peter, held up his arms and the other two followed that example. "We don't mean any harm." Surprisingly enough, the man sounded very honest to Peter's ears. But still.....

"Oh, yeah?" Peter snorted. "Then what are you doing down here at the containment unit? Sight seeing?"

The three looked at each other.

That was the moment the other two Ghostbuster arrived downstairs. Egon took in the flashing controls and the warning sirens and ran over to the control panel, shutting off the alarm and getting the safety mechanism in gear. When the containment field was finally back to normal he turned, finally able to react to their 'visitors'.

"Peter, what is going on here?" Egon wanted to know, looking at the three strangers.

"I don't know what's going on here, I just know that we've got a bunch of intruders down here."

"We are not intruders," the stranger looking like Egon said matter-of-factly.

Egon looked at his doppelganger, frowning when he saw the resemblance. Winston was evidently stunned, too, but found his voice quicker than the others.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "They look exactly like us!"

"Well, not 'exactly'," the dark-haired muttered, shooting a look at the blond.

Winston stared first at his Peter, then at the other one. "And he sounds exactly like you, too, Peter."

"No way!" the Ghostbuster objected. "And the hair's all wrong. Especially the hair of the one who looks like Egon."

The dark-haired one snickered, looking at the blond. "Told you, you didn't have the hang of it." It earned him a smothering glare.

"Who are you?" Egon - the Ghostbuster - finally asked.

"Well, we are .....," the one looking like Peter searched for words. He shot his blond friend a helpless look. "Y'think we can tell them?"

"I do not think it is advisable to do so."

"Well, he's talking like you, Egon," Peter muttered. Aloud he said, aiming the proton rifle at the blond: "I don't care if it is advisable or anything. I wanna know what the hell is going on here!"

"Please don't say that!" the blond said, looking definitely pained.

"What? You wanna tell me what I can say and what I don't? Cute. Real cute! Talk, buddy, or eat protons!"

While Peter was talking to the three strangers -- well, threatening them -- Egon had gotten out his P.K.E. meter, taking readings.

"Fascinating," he muttered, staring at the screen.

Winston looked over his shoulder, trying to decipher what all those lines meant. "What is it, Egon?"

"Yeah, translation for the rest of us unknowing," Peter fell in.

"The readings I get are very high. Off the scale, I have to confess. It's not burning the circuits, but it is very close." He looked at the three strangers and noticed the blond looking interestedly in his direction. "I can tell that they're not ghosts or demons," Egon continued, watching them.

"He thinks we're demons!" the dark-haired exclaimed, emerald eyes flashing. He sounded very insulted. "Listen, buddy ...."

The black man in the brilliant white uniform laid a calming hand on his arm. "Hold it. It's no use yelling at them."

"But I feel like yelling at them!"

"And I feel like blasting you to bits if you don't stop beating around the bush! I want the truth! Who. Are. You?!" Peter was close to losing his temper.

"We can't tell them," the dark-haired said, turning to the blond.

"If we don't, we won't get our friend back," the black told him reasonably.

"But it's against the rules!"

"That never bothered you before!"

"You wanna imply that I ......."

"Gentlemen." The blond's voice held the same note Egon's always held when he was breaking an argument between Winston and Peter. Both men reacted instantaneously. "We will tell them the truth."

"Now he's talking," Peter muttered.

"But what will the boss say?" the dark-haired asked.

"Think of what he will say when we get back with one man short."

That quieted the other one a bit, making him frown slightly. Finally, he sighed. "Okay."

The blond turned to the Ghostbusters. "We are your guardian angels," he stated matter-of-factly.

The three Ghostbusters looked at each other. Egon looked intrigued, while Peter and Winston simply stared at each other. Winston mouthed 'guardian angels?' and Peter simply shrugged.

"Guardian what?" he finally managed.

"Angels," the blond supplied helpfully.

"Is that a joke? If it is, it's not good. You could have come up with a better lie, couldn't you?"

"But it's true!" the dark-haired said. "We don't lie. We can't lie, for a fact."

"If you're an angel, where are your wings?" Peter asked pointedly.

The one looking like him grinned broadly while the others held an uneasy look.

"They always get in the way," the dark-haired explained. "It's no use to fall over your own wings when you try to help someone."

Peter snorted. "Right, Next thing you tell me is, your halo's in repair, right?" The one looking like him still wore the brown uniform and had no light around himself.

Now the other one blushed a bit. "Ahm, no, not exactly."

"Okay, for minute let's believe you're telling the truth," Winston intervened. "Why are you here?"

"To get our colleague out of your containment unit," the blond answered.

"Your colleague?" Now that Peter tried to come to terms with the concept of guardian angels he noticed that there were only three of them. No! No, that couldn't be, could it?

"Ray, the guardian of your injured colleague Raymond Stantz, was busted and stored in here," the blond explained, pointing at the containment unit. "We have to get him out of there."

"We busted an angel?" Peter said in disbelief.

"It was an accident," the black guardian said.

"But .... "

"That's why the accident at the museum happened," the dark-haired said. "We were one angel short."

"You wanna say that you could have prevented Ray from getting hurt?!"

"Not exactly." The dark-haired squirmed a bit, looking for help at his two colleagues. "Not preventing him from get hurt. Getting him out of the way in time. But I had to take care of you first and it was too late...," his voice trailed off. He looked very guilty all of a sudden.

"Me?" Peter didn't believe his ears. Then he remembered tripping over something all of a sudden, landing flat on his stomach. "Does that mean it was you who tripped me?" He shook his head. "What did you do that for? I could have saved Ray!" He came threateningly closer.

The other Peter, the guardian angel, looked at him in with guilt-laden green eyes. "If I had been able to save Ray, too, I'd have done it! Listen, I'm responsible for you. I had to do it."

"You're not my mother, buddy!" Peter caught himself. "What am I saying? Why am I believing all the crap you're telling?"

"Because it's the truth and you recognize the truth, Peter," the blond put in gently.

"So we trapped Ray's guardian angel. Man!" Winston groaned. "How do we get him out of the unit?" He turned to Egon.

The physicist looked like he was deep in thought. "I don't think we can get him out."

"What?!" Three guardian angels stared at him in disbelief.

"You can't leave him in there!" the black angel said.

"I didn't say we will," Egon told him. "I just said we can't get him out. He has to get out by himself."

"But he won't be able to get out by himself," Peter objected.

"Exactly. Someone has to go in there and get him."

"And it won't be you, big guy. I'll go." Peter frowned all of a sudden. "What am I saying?"

"Peter, you can't go in there. It's too dangerous. I have been inside the containment field before. I know what to expect. I will go."

"Whoa, guys. Just wait a minute. Don't I get a vote?" Winston intervened.

"Nope. Egon, you're needed here to monitor me when I'm inside."

"Peter, no, you ....."

Someone cleared his throat noisily. "No-one can go in there," the guardian of Egon could be heard.

"What? You wanna tell us what we can do and don't?"

"We would be unable to help you."

"Exactly why **I** will go," Peter's guardian stated.

"No!"

"Listen, Ray's in there and I will go and get him out! And don't tell me I can't do it. I can." He crossed his arms in front of his chest and stared challengingly at his colleague.

"If you go into the containment field we can't guarantee your safety," Egon said slowly, all the time looking at Peter's mirror image.

" Honestly, I don't care, Dr. Spengler. If we don't get Ray back ...." He didn't finish the sentence.

"Gentle .....," Egon started, but stopped, being not quite sure how he should address an angel. "Please, let me sort this out. Point one: we have guardian angels. I, for one, am very pleased to hear this, especially since this helps to clear up some things we encountered during a couple of busts in the past and couldn't explain before. Second: one of our guardian angels -- Ray's as it seems -- got caught by us, and put into the containment unit. Third: we have to get him out of there!"

"Exactly," Egon's counterpart said. "The question is, how do we get him out of there, and who will be the one who does it?"

"The question who it will be, is already solved," Peter stated. "It will be me!"

"Forget it!" Peter's guardian angel planted himself in front of his protégé, trying to stare him down. Peter, having at least the same stubborn thick head, as his guardian, returned the stare.

"We should leave them to that," Egon told his guardian. "In the meantime I could go into the containment unit and retrieve Ray."

"No way!" was the objection from both Peters in unison.

Winston looked at his counterpart, lifting one eyebrow. The other one just grinned knowingly.

"Listen, we're wasting time here!" Peter's guardian said seriously all of a sudden. "We can't keep going on discussing forever."

"We could draw straws," the other Peter suggested.

"You're always cheating," his guardian said.

"I'm not!"

"Yes, you are. I've been around you long enough to get to know you quite well, you know." He turned to the rest of the men and angels. "I will go, that's the last word I'll hear on this discussion!"

Egon, the angel, sighed, finally giving in. Peter was hard to convince otherwise when he got his mind set on something specific. It had been like this in the past and it would always be like this in the future -- if they had a future together as a team.

"He's always been a hard-head," Winston heard his counterpart mutter under his breath. "And he usually gets away with it."

"I know the feeling," the black Ghostbuster agreed and they traded a knowing smile of two very different beings sharing the same problem.

"Now that this is settled, how do I get in? And, much more important: how do we get Ray, and for that fact, me, out again?"

"How you get in is very easy," Egon explained. "We trap you first, then empty the trap. The coming out might be a bit more tricky. We can't just open the containment field without making sure first that other entities don't escape, too. We have to give you a time limit. Say, one hour?"

The dark-haired angel nodded. "That will be enough."

"I can't guarantee that I can get you out after the time limit is exceeded. If you are not at the exit point after one hour, you might be trapped inside forever."

"Well," the guardian said with a too bright smile painted on his lips. "At least I'd have Ray for company. It could be worse." He shot the blond a mocking look, but the worried gaze made him forget his mockery very fast again. He inhaled deeply. "Okay, let's start. Where's this trap?"

Peter unhooked the trap on his proton pack and threw it towards his counterpart. "Take care," he said seriously, looking into emerald eyes that were so much like his own. "I might need you again."

"You always do, Peter," the guardian returned with an as serious voice as Peter. He smiled softly.

The psychologist stomped onto the trigger and the trap opened. The angel was sucked inside, disappearing without screaming like the ghosts always did. Peter cautiously picked up the trap and carried it over to the containment unit. When he had emptied it inside, he tapped softly on the metal of the large unit. "Good luck."

The other two angels looked at each other, knowing very well that they might just have lost another friend and colleague.

 

* * *

 

Peter blinked as the bright white light ceased. Around him was a completely new world. It didn't look like the Netherworld. He could tell, he'd been there. Here, everything looked a bit twisted and disformed. There were small islands hovering through the air, well if it was air. As a guardian angel he didn't need air, though he'd adopted certain behavior patterns from his human protégé. He was floating, too. There was no ground below him. Well, very, very, far below him there was something dark and it could be solid. Or just an illusion. But right now this didn't concern him. He had to find Ray.

Guardian angels were slightly aware of each other. They had to be. Being around the other three angels had made Peter very aware of them. He knew their 'wavelengths' by heart. Concentrating a bit, he tried to find Ray's wavelength. It didn't take him long to find a faint trace and he started out towards it.

The deeper he got into the containment field, the more ghosts he encountered. Some ignored him, some looked at him with mild interest. But some, which he recalled as former, very potent foes of the Ghostbusters, looked at him with definite interest. He had to find Ray and get out of here quickly before those ghosts got any ideas! He might be an angel, but he wasn't so sure he was indestructible.

Peter had been in the containment unit for about 40 minutes when he finally found Ray. And Ray was in deep, deep trouble! He was cornered by two decidedly nasty looking demons which Peter identified as Tolay and Arzon, two demons the Ghostbuster had busted a long time ago. Evidently, they thought that Ray was the real thing. And Peter didn't even want to start to imagine what they would do to his friend. He had to do something.

"Hey!" he called.

The two demons turned. Peter felt his stomach turn into ice. He gulped.

"Why don't you two take on someone your own size?"

The demons growled and in Peter's mind a tiny, little voice told him that this wasn't really such a good idea, especially since he was about average human size and they were much larger! Then the two launched themselves at the guardian angel.

"Run, Ray!" Peter yelled, making a run for it himself.

His colleague did the same. More or less floating than running they tried to get away from the demons.

"Where are we going?" Ray asked. "And what are you doing here, Peter? Did they catch you, too?"

"We're making a run for the exit," Peter explained. "And everything else I'll explain to you when we get out! Yikes!" He gave a frightened yelp when a red claw passed closely by his head. They were getting close! Too close. He looked around for the exit and finally saw it only a few hundred meters in front of them. His inner clock told him that the hour was almost up and that they had only minutes left.

"Over there!" he told Ray frantically.

"But it's closed!"

"It'll open in a few seconds! Go!" Peter pushed his friend towards the slowly opening exit, turning to see where the demons were. Much too close, he found out a second later.

Tolay was following them on the heels and he was diving straight for the exit.

"Shit!" Peter muttered. If Tolay got out, the guys would be in trouble. He had to do something. "Hey!" he caroled, waving his arms at the demon. "Over here, you fat lizard!"

Tolay stopped his dive for the exit, frowning. Then he changed his flight and went for Peter, followed by his brother Arzon. Was this a time to confess to himself that this was a really, really bad idea? Peter didn't think so. Evading the first grasping claws, he saw Ray disappearing through the exit. He was safe. Now, all he had to do, was get out there himself. Preferably in one piece!

He evaded another attack and made a run for the exit. He could see the bright light that marked the spot where he would get to safety and doubled his efforts, well aware that the demons were behind him -- breathing down his neck, to put it that way. He reached the exit, diving head first into the white light when he felt a suddenly, painful jerk at his left leg. No! The white light cleared away and he saw the basement of Ghostbuster Central before him. The three men and three angels stared at him in horror as Peter was halfway stuck between the unit and the real world.

"He's got me!" Peter gasped.

His human protégé went white and grasped his hands, pulling at him with all his strength. Peter wriggled and tried to pull his leg out of the demon's grasp. Suddenly the guardian angels realized what would happen.

"Let me go!" he yelled.

Peter was stunned for a second. "Let go? Are you crazy?"

"If you pull me out, the demons will get out, too!"

The psychologist went even whiter, turning to his two friends, who were coming to his aid with the guardian angel. "I'll pull him out, you guys shoot at the demon when he tries to follow!" he instructed them, renewing his efforts to get his counterpart out.

"No!" the guardian objected as he was pulled more and more into the real world. "It's too dangerous!"

"Shut up!" Peter hissed and the other one obeyed, too surprised to counter it.

Suddenly he shot out of the opening of the containment field like a cork out of a bottle. Peter, not suspecting it, was thrown backwards by the very solid form of the guardian angel falling against him. He hit the ground, seeing out of the corner of his eyes a red claw reaching out of the exit.

Egon and Winston reacted instantaneously and shot at the claw. There was a surprised yelp of pain and the claw retreated. Egon jumped for the lever to close the exit and pulled it down. The containment unit closed down with a metallic snap.

"Peter!"

Two Peters looked up as five men bent over them -- three of them in brilliant white jumpsuits -- all of them looking equally worried.

"Hi, guys," Peter muttered, feeling sore and bruised all over. Since when did angels feel that way? Maybe since they got trapped in containment fields and attacked by demons. He sat up, freeing himself of Peter, who was lying below him, eyes holding a dazed look. "Peter?" he asked in concern.

The other one looked at him, genuine worry displayed in the emerald eyes. "You all right?" he wanted to know.

The guardian smiled, relieved. "Yeah, thanks to you." The smile broadened. "And I always thought **I** was the guardian angel of the two of us." He helped his protégé to his feet, looking him over for injuries.

Peter brushed off some dust.

"Peter, you're all right!" Ray rushed at his friend's side. His face was alight with relief and happiness.

"Reminds you of someone?" Winston asked Egon, grinning broadly.

"Definitely," the physicist replied, his mind working on the fascinating fact that the guardian angels not only looked like them, but also had some of their behavior patterns. This was really interesting.

When the first anxiety was over, Egon looked at his colleagues. "We have to go now."

The three nodded and suddenly held a hesitant air. "

"You know what's gonna happen, don't you?" Winston asked no-one specific.

All nodded. All except the Ghostbusters.

"I don't," Peter said, looking expectantly at the four.

His guardian angel returned the look uneasily. "Well, we get reassigned," he finally said and he didn't sound very thrilled about the prospect.

" _Reassigned_?" Peter echoed. "What do you mean 'reassigned'? You saying that after I saved your life you gonna go and never return, or what?"

"Something like it, yes."

"Hey, I happen to like you!" Peter blurted out, then stopped as he realized what he had just said. "Well, a bit," he added.

The guardian smiled wryly.

"Why do you get reassigned?" Egon wanted to know.

"Because you have seen us," his counterpart explained. "You know we exist. This knowledge will change your overall behavior. Before, you took only some unnecessary risks. Now, you might jump into whatever danger there is, because you know we'll be there."

Peter shook his head. "But .... you can't just go!"

"We don't have a choice. It's the rules."

"Who needs rules," the psychologist mumbled.

"Well," Ray suddenly said, "there is a choice." He looked at his colleagues. "You know what I mean ....?"

Egon immediately shook his head. "No, we can't do that."

"Do what?" Winston wanted to know.

"If you don't know we exist, we can stay," Egon explained.

"But we know," Peter said, then his eyes went wide in realization. "Wait a second!"

"Exactly," the blond angel said. "We could wipe your memory of us."

"Nobody messes with my memory, buddy!"

"It might be the only way," Egon tried to calm his friend. "Either that, or we lose our guardians." He smiled a bit. "And I think we definitely need them."

"You can say that again, m'man," Winston muttered.

Peter thought it through, looking at the four angels. There was a real pleading look in the green eyes of his guardian. The psychologist bit his lip.

"Ohhhh-kay," he finally gave in.

Peter grinned in relief. "Thanks."

"It won't hurt, will it?" his protégé wanted to know.

"No."

With that, the four angels disappeared.

The three Ghostbuster blinked and looked at each other.

"Guys?" Peter's questioning voice got Egon's attention. "What are we doing down here?"

Egon looked a bit confused, as did Winston. "I have to confess that I don't know that, Peter."

Peter walked over to the stairs, shrugging. "Then why don't we get upstairs and get something to eat? I'm ravenously hungry."

"Good idea!" Winston followed.

Egon took a last look at the containment unit and then followed his friends. As he walked upstairs he was aware that his P.K.E. meter was still switched on. Why, he didn't have clue. Looking at the displayed readings he stopped, frowning.

"Fascinating."


End file.
